Nahargarh Fort Jaipur

Nahargarh Fort stands on the edge of the Aravalli Hills, overlooking the city of Jaipur in the Indian state of Rajasthan. Along with Amer Fort and Jaigarh Fort, Nahargarh once formed a strong defense ring for the city. The fort was originally named Sudarshangarh but it became known as Nahargarh, which means 'abode of tigers'. The popular belief is that Nahar here stands for Nahar Singh Bhomia, whose spirit haunted the place and obstructed construction of the fort. Nahar's spirit was pacified by building a temple in his memory within the fort, which thus became known by his name.

Nahargarh Fort was commissioned in the year 1734 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the founder of Jaipur. Placed on the lofty Aravalli Hills, the fort was a retreat palace for the ruler. Nahargarh and Jaigarh fort are connected to each other through their extended ramparts.
There is also a legend connected to the fort. It is believed that the fort was cursed by the spirit of Nahar Signh Bhomia, a Rathore prince. Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh found this property which once belonged to the said prince and the Maharajs thought about raising a fort here. But, the spirit of the prince was not happy with the idea. Nevertheless, the construction started. The part of construction that was done in the morning was found completely destroyed the next day. When Maharaja Sawai Singh came to know of this, he built a small fort inside the premises of the fort and dedicated it to the prince. Later on, a small temple was also built here. The prince’s spirit was now happy.

In the year 1868, King Sawai Ram Singh renovated the fort. After this, Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh, in the year 1880, thought of an idea to turn this fort into a luxury retreat. He commissioned Raj Imarat to make the fortress within the fort that would be used as for recreation purpose. This amusement place was named Madhavendra Bhawan. This enchanting structure with wall paintings, fine interiors and stucco patterns was architected by Vidyadhar Bhattacharya, the architect of Jaipur.